Wearing white....or driving it - São Paulo

What I'd wear to pick up my kids...if they wouldn't drop paint or bugs on me.

As I pulled up to school yesterday there was a mom there who was wearing all white. She looked great--white slacks, blouse and sandals. And I thought to myself...wow, how unusual. You see, white clothing has been taken over by the legions of nannies who pick up their boss' kids and you rarely see (or at least I rarely see) women wearing white, unless they are in fact nannies.  

We don't have rules here about not wearing white after Labor Day or whatever--it's pretty nice here year round. But many employers and clubs do insist on nannies being dressed in white. Not sure why that is when their little darlings are spilling and dropping and making messes all over the help. We had a nanny for the twins when they were one and I never asked her to wear white--unless required by a place we were traveling.

Nannies are refused entry to this club if they don't wear white. credit: escrevalolaescreva.blogspot.com

I don't wear white for a different reason. I have two perpetually mud and yuck covered seven-year old boys plus two chocolate labradors. White does not work for me. I would like to wear it. For more than the five minutes it usually takes to get yucked. 

I also wanted a white car when I was car-shopping a couple of years ago. Strangely, only in the last 20 years has Brazil made cars in more colors--they used to be only silver or black. Henry Ford would have liked it here. Two years ago Honda rolled out my car in white and I said "yes, please" and BH said "no thanks, I don't want to get flagged down like a taxi." Taxis in São Paulo are white (in Rio they are yellow and don't ask me other cities, I don't know).  

Poor white. Such discrimination.